Heretofore, wrist band devices with retaining chains and straps were available for securing small items such as a coin purse (U.S. Pat. No. 23,401 to Hudson 1893), a whistle (France 999,367 to Maran 1949), and a key (U.S. Pat. No. 3,124,286 to Dompier 1964). These devices were designed to retain the item in a dangling "standby" position proximate the wearer's hand, continuously available for immediate use.
These small items visibly suspended from the user's wrist, creating a swinging, jingling nuisance with neither aesthetic nor security considerations. These conspicuous small items of value were constantly available for theft as well as exposed to all of the elements and hazards of the user's environment (dirt, grease, abrasives, oxidation, corrosion). Foreign particles picked up by retained keys were particularly troublesome to the delicate tumbler mechanism in the lock which must interface with the key. The carried item frequently knocked against environmental structures and was nicked or damaged. Sometimes the carried item became snagged and was torn loose from the retainer chain and lost. The dangling feature of these prior art devices created a special hazard around industrial machinery or electronic apparatus. Entanglement of the dangling item and chain could cause the user to be pulled into a mechanical device or electrically shocked.
Rapid movement or sudden changes in direction of the wearer's arm and hand caused the carried item to jerk at the end of the retaining chain and whip around dangerously. Such random high velocity motion of the carried item was a hazard to the nearby people and environmental articles.
No provision was made in these prior art devices for a storage position in which the retained items were carried in a less prominent position adjacent to the wearer's arm; and then covered, immobilized, and completely secured. The constant access feature of these prior art devices was the convenience, and also the source of the above problems.
Loop and pile holding straps have been employed previously to secure equipment in an immobile storage position (U.S. Pat. No. 3,543,977 to Lockridge, U.S. Pat. No. 3,947,927 to Rosenthal, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,540 to Hasslinger). However these tie straps have not been employed in a dual mode storage-use device.